1. Field of the Invention
The invention is within the area of technology associated with protecting vehicles and their occupants from explosions of mines or improvised explosive devices typically encountered by military vehicles in combat zones. Generally this technology involves adding armor to the underside of vehicles and specially shaping the lower hulls of the vehicles; typically armored V-shaped hulls or somewhat V-shaped hulls are used to protect the vehicles and the vehicle occupants. One aspect of the invention herein is a blast shield in the form of a V hull thickest at the vertex and tapering in the outboard direction to brackets which have sliding engagement with sidewalls of the vehicle cab; the V hull and brackets form an integral, one-piece component.
A problem that has been encountered in some vehicle designs is that the floor of the cab or cabin of the vehicle oscillates violently as a result of an under-vehicle explosion. The oscillation is known to injure the occupants of the vehicle, the lower limbs of the occupants being particularly vulnerable to the effects of floor oscillation. The invention herein mitigates blast-induced floor oscillation by controlling the paths of blast forces passed to the floor. Specifically, the invention utilizes an improved system having a V shaped hull as a blast shield that can rise or descend relative to the vehicle frame. When an explosion under the vehicle occurs, the V hull contacts the frame and sidewall so as to divide blast forces into two discrete components travelling along different paths in the vehicle. The discrete force components arrive at the vehicle floor essentially simultaneously at different locations, whereby floor oscillation is reduced.
2. Background Art
It is already known to employ either a truncated V shaped hull or a “shallow V” hull on a vehicle to enhance its ability to resist or survive mine blasts or similar explosions occurring under the vehicle. For example, U.S. Patent Application 2012/0174767 A1 of Naroditsky et al shows a shallow V belly armor plate under a vehicle cab and attached to sidewalls of a vehicle. That reference at paragraph 40 also teaches making the V armor plate thicker at the central portion thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 7,997,182 B1 to Cox shows a V shaped blast shield having ribs and other components reinforcing the vertex zone of the shield. U.S. Patent Application publication 2010/0307329 A1 to Kaswen et al shows an underbody blast shield capable of vertical rise and fall due to shock absorbers connecting the shield to the vehicle.
In addition to the foregoing references, a previous and relevant United States patent application has been filed by the inventor herein. The previous application is entitled “Truncated V Underbody Protection Enhancement,” has application Ser. No. 13/677,202 and EFS ID 14232024, and was filed Nov. 14, 2012. The previous application discloses a rigid armor shield configured as a truncated V disposed below the floor of a vehicle cab. First elastomeric isolators are between the shield and vehicle frame members; and second elastomeric isolators are between lateral edges of the shield and the cab's side walls. If an under-vehicle blast occurs, the distance through which the second isolators collapse equals the combined collapsing distance of the first isolators and the cab mounts, whereby blast loads to the shield transfer along separate paths to different zones of the floor so as to decrease oscillation of the floor.